By seeking to 'outcompete' China, the US is sowing seeds of conflict

In terms of its policy toward China, the Joe Biden administration has always said it seeks competition, not conflict. Yet what it has done recently regarding China serves only to belie that claim.

The latest example showing the Biden administration considers China a systemic rival of the United States that must be confronted using all possible means is its budget request for the 2025 fiscal year.

Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma did not mince words when he said on Monday that the US must resort to "all the tools at our disposal" to outcompete China, and for that purpose the budget request includes $4 billion over five years in mandatory funding, including $2 billion to create a new international infrastructure fund to provide a credible, reliable alternative to Chinese infrastructure funding overseas. The other $2 billion is earmarked for "game-changing investments" to help "Indo-Pacific" countries push back against "predatory efforts", he said.